Pingree calls for immediate end to U.S. involvement in Afghanistan

A microcosm of the stagnation of the U.S. Congress can be found in the 2012 Farm Bill, said Congresswoman Chellie Pingree, D-Maine.

Deborah McDermott

A microcosm of the stagnation of the U.S. Congress can be found in the 2012 Farm Bill, said Congresswoman Chellie Pingree, D-Maine.

Pingree, who serves on the House Agriculture Committee, said she worked to get provisions in the bill that would be favorable to small farmers, redirecting a portion of the subsidies currently given to “big crop” farms.

“I felt really good about it. I had over 70 co-sponsors, so I believe we've shifted the debate a little, and it was a good issue for me to work with my colleagues where I could across the aisle,” she said.

The Senate Agricultural Committee and then the full Senate voted in favor of the bill, which then came back to the House for a floor vote.

“The House refused to bring up the bill,” she said, adding several theories emerged for the decision. She said it was frustrating to Senate and House agriculture committee members who worked together on the bill.

If it isn't passed in the lame duck Congress, “very possibly we would have to start all over again” in the new session.

According to recent polling figures, it is likely that Pingree will be in Congress when it reconvenes in January. The two-term congresswoman from Maine's First District is currently besting Republican opponent state Sen. Jon Courtney by 57 to 24 percent, with a 7 percent margin of error.

Pingree spoke to the Herald editorial board this week on issues ranging from the budget to health care to funding for the Sarah Mildred Long Bridge replacement.

She said much needs to be accomplished during the lame duck session, most importantly acting on the “fiscal cliff” — the combination of expiring tax cuts and the ramification of automatic budget cuts called “sequestration.”

“I'm hoping the election will at least bring people back to the table so they'll be willing to compromise,” she said. “I have seen some of my tea party colleagues in their own elections say 'maybe I won't sign Grover Norquist's (no income tax increase) pledge again,' which says to me they have moved a little bit.”Asked what budget cuts she would be willing to live with, she said she would like to see the reduction of U.S. military presence in Europe, subsidies cut to agribusiness and oil companies, and she would change tax laws to end support to companies that “ship jobs overseas.” She said she would also favor removing the income cap on Social Security, and ending the country's involvement in Afghanistan.

A staunch opponent of both the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, she said she's “ready to get out” of Afghanistan now and not at the end of 2014.

“I think both wars were a mistake, honestly,” she said. “We've made very little progress with al-Qaeda, and it's an incredibly horrible place for troops and really expensive.”

She supports President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act, although she said she would prefer a universal health care model.

Current projections indicate the ACA is going to cost much more than originally anticipated. Asked about that, she said there will be a concurrent drop in costs to hospitals because Americans will be able to receive preventive care and will not have to go to emergency rooms for treatment.

If Pingree is re-elected, she will be a member of the Maine and New Hampshire congressional delegations who will be asked to find as much as $60 million to replace the Sarah Mildred Long Bridge.

“I'm sure it can be done,” she said. “I don't know how, but you have the delegations of two states, and it's a critically important bridge. There are too many arguments in favor of why it needs to be replaced.”

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